The Home of Australian Craft Beer

Wed Mar 21 2012 by Crafty Pint

Today’s the day the 20th – and biggest ever – Melbourne Food & Wine Festival draws to a close. It’s seen beer play a more central role than ever before, with the festival having its own beer brewed specially and craft beer the star at many events. It was the first time beer had been invited onto the MasterClass program, where The Crafty Pint was asked to compile and moderate two sessions for their inaugural Liquid Lounge, which also featured two cocktail sessions.

We opted for a session showcasing beers that are pushing the boundaries in different ways and one based around brekkie; well, what else do you do at 10am on a Sunday morning? The first – Brilliant New Brews – featured brackets of wild ales, collaborative brews, barrel-aged beers and imperial and beyond beers. The brekkie featured beers that had something in common with breakfast or were traditionally served with breakfast.

Brewing guests were Mikkel Borg Bjergso¸, from Mikkeller, Ben Kraus, from Bridge Road, Shawn Sherlock, from Murray's, Josh Uljans, from Moon Dog, and Dave Bonighton, from Mountain Goat, all of whom kindly donated their beers and time for free. Brendan Varis, from Feral, had hoped to join us but had a new brewery arriving in WA so had to pull out, but sent beers regardless.

Both sessions sold out and garnered great reviews. In fact, we spoke to the Melbourne Food & Wine team yesterday and they told us: “You’ve got no choice – you’re working with us again next year!” So, great things continue to happen for beer in Australia, with Mikkel acknowledging that while the scene is still young in Australia we have a good thing going on. His advice? Be loud!

For those who made it – and those who will be there next year! – here are a few snaps from the two sessions taken by Chris McBeer and The Crafty Pint Jr:

As the beer landscape in Australia becomes ever more crowded and competition intensifies, it's not enough simply to brew good beer. How a brewery presents itself and its beers is perhaps more crucial then ever before, so we're addressing branding as our second "Big Issue" topic. READ ON

A whole year has passed since the Crafty Cabal was launched into the beerosphere. In that time, we've given away more than $10K in tickets and beers, poured 25 kegs for members, hosted 14 events – and it's just getting started. READ ON

Part two of our examination of the issue of ownership in the craft beer world is a blind tasting special. In it, we pit beers from the big brewers, major retailers and multinationals against those from small independent Australian brewing companies. READ ON

Craft beer news straight to your inbox!

Sign up to our weekly newsletter, packed with the latest craft beer news, comps and more. It's a one stop shop to craft beer enlightenment every Friday.

The Crafty Pint is an independent online magazine and resource for anyone interested in craft beer in Australia. We bring an honest, old-fashioned journalistic approach to beer's brave new world, telling stories because they're worth telling not because someone is paying us to write them.

Like many of the people who have changed the face of beer in Australia, we believe in authenticity, integrity, enjoyment and love. We hope to play a role in helping good beer, brewed by good people, find its way into the hands of more drinkers.